The Callahan
Hardpop
Dead Frog Records
This album's been out for quite a while, but I've just gotten around to really hearing it (the first listen didn't excite me much). This Swedish quintet have made music with various personnel over the past few years, but "Hardpop" is actually their debut full-length. That's an apt title, as this is upbeat, 80s-influenced pop music with a solid kick to it, especially when guitarist Fritz Callahan (all the band members are named Callahan) gets to riffin' like mad on his axe. Vocalist Andy sounds a tad like early Bowie at times, and drummer Fred is a more than competent drummer. It's a measure of the remarkably high level of quality of Swedish musicians these days that even a group like this who aren't too original are still better than their genre counterparts elsewhere in the world. Most listeners would find this album quite enjoyable, and it is, but I just wish there were one or two more elements that didn't sound like so many other bands. The Callahan don't excite me like many other Swedish bands do. Still, they play with zest, they're capable of writing strong tunes, and you can definitely tap your foot to most of these numbers. "Hardpop" is an easy listen, if not necessarily a truly memorable one.
- Kevin Renick